2/28/11

Is all the rage right now. I didnt really know it, so if you feel behind, ts'ok, because I was too. Then I stumbled upon this post. kill me. This girl is a genius. I mean, I like cake, I like peppermint bark. Just nix the mint and add the cake. I loaded all my kids in the car that moment I saw them (and bribed them with sprinkle-putting-on activities the whole time) and came home immediately and made them on Friday night. Yes, I was such a loser that I just made bark by myself and ate too much and then couldn't even watch a movie because I was so full. party girl. woo hoo.

but, back to it. The bark was super good and, for real this girl is so cute. maybe she wants to be my friend in real life... (i know, its like fetch, its never going to happen, but a girl can dream). So, go to howsweeteats.com and love your life. She is super funny, cute and her food is amazing.
Then I just died over this girl and her amazingness.
(and look how normal she looks in her self portrait. kills me). I LOVE this shirt! and really all of her collection. love it. and I think she used to just be a flower designer that blew up. as she should. she is so talented.
ok. more on the rest of the weekend that was ooc fun. but that's when I can get my brain cells to think of something more important than food and clothes. (duh. shoes.)
ok. more tomorrow.

2/25/11

First off, how many tears did you cry when you saw that sweet baby at the hospital??? Poor McKenna!! She just looks so helpless with that oxygen mask!! I heard she was headed home yesterday, so I hope that went smoothly and that last night went easily, with few coughing fits. Love you guys and am praying so much for yall!
On another note,
I have been working on different kinds of flowers to crochet and Im pretty obsessed with it. I am trying to do all the squares for the blanket but I keep getting distracted to flower land.

after I saw these on the daybook (who is so freakin cute) and tried to copy them exactly.
they were not so cute on me
(plus, I try to smile and I look like a huge goof and then I try not to smile and I look like a freak. so there you go). It was just a little bit too fluffy for me. but I still think you should buy one- I think they are like the cutest headbands I have seen in a long time.
then I made these
for the orangy one I used this tutorial and for the pink multi colored and the black I used this tutorial that now I cant find but it was great. (I love you teresa!!)
and I left the string long on the multicolor and wore it to dinner. and took creepy self pics of myself in it again.
and i do love it. but it kept sliding down on my head and I looked weird fixing it.
but, overall, I love having new flowers to put on the hats, headbands and hair clips.
Hope you guys have a great weekend.

2/23/11

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, it has been a hard couple of weeks for us.

It all started with just a little pink eye...

Ella got pink eye a few weeks ago and we treated it with eye drops. She then got an upper respiratory infection with a really bad cough. Ella is a VERY loving big sister which made it very hard to keep her out of little sister McKenna's face. Last week McKenna began to have a little cough. It got worse each day and she started having trouble catching her breath. We took her into the doctor last week and she tested positive for RSV. There is nothing to treat RSV, it just has to pass on its own. RSV is not that serious in older kids but it can get pretty scary with little babies. Bob and I started taking shifts during the night to keep an eye on her because she was choking so much. It scared me to death! We decided to take her to the ER last night and they admitted her. She is still in the hospital now and the doctors aren't sure when she will be released yet. Hopefully soon though. She is getting breathing treatments and oxygen and they are monitoring her 24/7.

It breaks my heart. It is the saddest thing to see her little body struggle. We are hoping to see some improvement in the next couple of days. There are lots of prayers being said and we greatly appreciate it.

My mom flew in today to help us out and we are so thankful to have her here.

I will keep you guys updated and I'm hoping to be back with a more light hearted post soon:)
Oh and I forgot to mention that Bob woke up with pink eye this morning...why wouldn't he!

2/22/11

My son is crazy into dinosaurs. and dino dan. and some other animals, a little bit. but he knows all the different kinds of dinosaurs and its hilarious to hear his little mouth try and say pentaceratops. so anyway, we made a nest for dinosaur eggs that we eat for breakfast (I know, so weird. but if I put food coloring on the eggs and say they are dinosaur eggs they get so excited that they ask for them. im so tricky. ahh tricky tricky..sorry).
and I took six kids to the park yesterday. scratch that, I tried to take them to the post office, but it was presidents day so we went to the park after we ALL got out of the car at the post office, walked inside and then realized it was closed, and then ALL 7 of us got back in the car. I have got to learn to check my calendar...

and today we went to our friend katelyn's house and played. nothing exciting but there are pics so I am going to post them. and, yes, I have the hipstamatic app just like everyone else who thinks they are so cool and should post them even though they are just phone pics. and, yes, I also have a real camera. youre welcome.

and the bubbles got on sassy. after I had to cut an unidentified stickiness out of her hair. her life was over.
moral of the story- eggs are good, don't go to the post office on holidays, even ones that are not that memorable, and bubbles are fun.
happy wednesday.

2/21/11

I have mentioned this before, but I have recently wanted to make a granny square blanket, and after seeing this one, I knew it had to be done. So I started making these squares and am realizing that this is quite the feat. Im kinda tired thinking about it.
but here is what I have so far (along with ben's toes...)
I am so excited about them and its so fun getting to be done with something so fast (as in the squares). And its so fun changing the colors and stuff. Some squares are not my favorite color combos, so I may have to nix them in the end. we'll see.
and my neighbor asked for a baby blanket and hats in lime green, orange and choc brown, so i jumped on that
after I finally finished poor julia's hat order.
sorry julia. I am going to send you this little extra one to say thanks for waiting so long.
and after seeing darby's granola bars, I decided to make some. I couldnt find coconut oil (but I found coconut butter, is that the same thing??) so I looked up smitten kitchen's recipe and made some of hers. oh deb, you always know how to make me happy.
they were delicious. I am going to make some not so healthy ones with m&ms and peanut butter chips and choc chips today. im clearly on a health kick.

2/16/11

How cute was Avery's princess party?! We are SO sad that we missed it! SO sad! Ella got sent home from school last Wednesday with pink eye and has been sick ever since. The pink eye turned into an upper respiratory infection and poor kid has had a fever for days. Today is the first day her fever has broke and she finally seems to be getting better.

It was so nice getting outside today. The weather was beautiful!

Ella hasn't had a haircut since her last one with Avery and she was due for a little trim. Brittany gave her the perfect little haircut outside and it looks so cute.

my babies kids are all in booster seats. its a bittersweet day at the barstad car. I am excited for the soccer mom stage of the game, but I am sad to officially leave the baby stage....gosh. how does this happen so fast??!!

2/14/11

So, this weekend was aves's party and we had so much fun! The whole weekend was a blast.

The night before adalyn spent the night for avery's first slumber party! She rode in with blair who helped me with all of the pre party stuff (and celeste via ichat). The little girls were hilarious and wanted to go to sleep the minute adalyn got here because they wanted to have a "sleep over", but they didnt actually go to sleep until midnight :)

Then, the next morning we cleaned and got everything party ready! Ashley brought Mason, Lindsay and Ben brought Kinley, and all of our neighbors and tyler friends came out for the party. It was really so much fun.

Since it was from 2pm-4 we just had desserts. My mom brought these amazing cookies from celebrity bakery and Julie and I made crown and star cookies that we rolled in sugar that we dyed pink (unfortunately not pictured). They were amazing!
I also made these cupcakes in a jar that I copied from cakies. They were so so good!! (And, for the lids, I cut out a piece of pink paper and got a crown punch from martha to make them look a little more princessy). Blair and I used MADE's carrot cake recipe (twice, because maybe I mixed up baking powder and baking soda...whatever.) and used her cream cheese icing. Julie made the yellow cupcakes and we just used vanilla frosting for those that we dyed pink. We made brownies that we put cream cheese icing with and a few had brownies and peanut butter mixed in. I wanted to do a smores one, with a graham cracker, brownie and marshmallow cream, but we didnt get a chance to go to the store. Anyway, they were super easy to make and everyone loved them.
I got these castles off of amazon that I just love! They were a huge hit and everyone colored and put stickers on them.
I made some bunting that I hung up all around the house and some magic wands out of wooden sticks and ribbon.
For the party favor and some decor I sewed these felt crowns.
Aves got a belle dress and belle doll from blair and mel and they were the perfect outfit and companion for the party!
And I am just sick because I did not get very many pictures throughout the party! Julie made Katelyn this fantastic tutu that matched her princess shirt and Mazzy, Jaden and Eshan came dressed in beautiful dresses and knight gear. Thanks to everyone who dressed up and partied hard.
(I also got princess stamps at hobby lobby and I think they thought they were tatoos...)
Thank you everyone who drove in and spent the night or just drove back the same day. We had so so much fun with yall and I know it meant the world to Avery!

2/13/11

My sister in law's amazing store opens TOMORROW!! We are so excited for her and think everything she does is so amazing, so we know this is going to be so so awesome. Go check it out tonight at the grand opening party or tomorrow when it opens (at 11 N. Tyler St. Dallas 75208)!!